new to 1Password -- questions about syncing, transferring data
I am currently running 1Password 4.4 on a MacBook Air (OS X 10.9.2). I sync to two iPhones and two iPads but via Wi-Fi only. I don't want to put my data onto Dropbox/iCloud or anywhere else but local storage. Later this week, I will be installing a new SSD in my MacBook, and will be reinstalling my system from scratch -- I'm in tech support so I do a lot of experimentation and testing of new software on my Mac, so it gets pretty unstable after a while. Every now and then, I just have to wipe the slate clean and start over to get it working decently again. I never restore from a Time Machine backup; I do a manual backup and drag-and-drop/export-and-import restore of my data so I carry as little corruption over from one system to the next.
My question is what would be the best way to transfer my 1Password setup from my existing system to the next one? I still have the original email with the link to "automatically add my license". So I assume after I have my clean system installed, I download a fresh copy of 1Password from the AgileBits website and use the link in the original email to activate my license. Do I need to have deactivated my license on the old system before I decommission my original system drive? I bought the Family License, so perhaps not.
To restore my data, should I use the restore function and use the latest backup file, such as this:
1Password 2014-05-07 05_38_40 (1 profiles, 616 items, 59 folders, 1 attachments).1p4_zip
Or since I will have synced to my iPhones & iPads just previous to installing the new SSD, should I use Wi-Fi syncing to download the data from one of those devices instead? Not sure if there's a preferred method to avoid duplication of data or not.
Lastly, I'd like to also setup my wife's MacBook with a desktop copy of 1Password (she's the user of the other iPhone & iPad). Since I don't want to go cloud on this, is it feasible to: 1) sync my desktop data to my iPhone, 2) install 1Password on her Mac, 3) sync my iPhone to her desktop? I suppose I could do folder-based syncing. Just trying to figure out if there's a best option for this.
Thanks for your help. As a guy who has to manage passwords for dozens of people I support, I freakin' love this app! The new Watchtower feature is going to be a huge aid in helping me keep my friends & clients protected.
Comments
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Hi @bitmender,
First… I freakin' love your kind words for 1Password - thank you! :)
With minor clarification, the strategy you've got for reinstalling and relicensing (no decommissioning necessary) 1Password and restoring your data will work fine. About this choice:
To restore my data, should I use the restore function and use the latest backup file, such as this:
1Password 2014-05-07 05_38_40 (1 profiles, 616 items, 59 folders, 1 attachments).1p4_zip
vs.
Or since I will have synced to my iPhones & iPads just previous to installing the new SSD, should I use Wi-Fi syncing to download the data from one of those devices instead?
You might want to go with the former since Wi-Fi sync doesn't currently support attachment syncing. Our developers are hoping to add this functionality soon but there aren't any further details at this time.
In your backup example, there's a single item with an attachment. If you look for that item on your iPhones/iPads it won't have the attachment if you've only used Wi-Fi syncing. In that case, using Wi-Fi sync to repopulate the primary vault in 1Password on your Mac would lose the attachment there.
You could rebuild your 1Password for iOS databases (minus the attachment) through Wi-Fi sync, if necessary, using the 1Password for Mac database after restoring it from the backup during the post-restore setup. If the 1Password database on your Mac can serve as a "master copy" then it can always be used to reconfigure everything else, even from scratch. For instance, if duplicates somehow ended up in your Mac database you could restore an "unduped" backup, erase data everywhere else, then resync with the Mac.
Can you let me know if that's all clear before moving on to options for syncing data with 1Password on your wife's MacBook? And confirm that you're already been Wi-Fi syncing data between 1Password on your MacBook Air and her iPhone/iPad? Thanks!
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Yes, this makes sense to me. So what I'll do is:
- Make sure our iPhones & iPads are all synced so everything is on the same page.
- Make a final backup of my current MacBook data (including the latest 1Password ZIP backup).
- Install new new SSD. Install OS X. Restore my data.
- Download and install 1Password.
- License 1Password using my original email.
- Restore my 1Password database from the last ZIP file backup.
- Sync again to my iPhones & iPads.
- If data duplication occurs or anything else weird happens, delete all the iOS apps and reinstall them, then repeat steps 6-7.
Sounds like that should put my data right back to where I started before swapping in the new drive.
As for the syncing question -- yes, I've been Wi-Fi syncing from my MacBook to both of our iPhones & iPads. Now that I understand the bit about attachment syncing (I think the 1 attachment I have is just my 1Password license, but I might attach other things in the future, so I should keep that in mind), it sounds like the only way to sync 1Password from my MacBook to my wife's MacBook (and to keep it on the local network rather than the could) would be to use the folder syncing option to a folder on my hard drive, then share that folder across our local network to where her MacBook can see it. That sound right?
Thanks for helping me figure this out!
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Hi @bitmender,
Another (and perhaps preferable) way of handling your 1Password data transfer would be to create a backup of the entire ~/Library/Application Support/1Password 4 folder (for the Agile Web Store version) and restore it to the same location on your new SSD, which will also include the license file. That'll only leave preferences files behind (like the other methods). Instead of copying those files (in general, not just for 1Password), I'll often make screencaptures of Preferences window tabs, etc. for reference purposes during future reconfigurations.
The lone attachment I have for an item in a vault that's Wi-Fi synced is also the 1Password 4 for Mac license file, making it easy to disregard being missing in 1Password for iOS. :)
For syncing, configuring Folder sync with multiple instances of 1Password for Mac to a single keychain stored on a network device can be a bit tricky. There can be permission and network connectivity issues. The preferred way to configure Folder sync is for each instance of 1Password to use a local data folder. Then those folders are kept in sync using another application/service, like ChronoSync that's mentioned in the Sync with local folder guide. Basically:
1P4 MBA <-> Folder sync MBA <-> Folder MBA <-Syncing app/service-> Folder MB <-> Folder Sync MB <-> 1P4 MB
It is possible to use Wi-Fi sync to keep data synced between 1Password on your MacBook Air and wife's MacBook, with 1Password for iOS as the intermediary. Since data is already on her iPhone/iPad either of those could be Wi-Fi synced with 1Password on her Mac.
Direct Mac-to-Mac Wi-Fi sync is something we do want to support. And attachment syncing, of course. :)
I hope that's helpful!
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